Moving Mountains Pt. 2

When your street name has the word "Hill" in it and your landlord says it has "a few steps" You imagine something very different than this...

CRAP!!

My head immediately began to fill with "Oh my god what have we done?!" My legs screamed "Oh Hell-To-The-No!" and I looked at our moving truck and wondered how the hell we were going to get it all up this mountain. Little did we know the adventure would really begin when we got the keys.

We knew the house was old and we've lived in old houses before but it was plain to see that this house had received very little TLC over the years. There were fake poinsettia flowers in the window boxes folks! But we have to give our landlord some credit for trying. We have new floors and new bathroom fixtures. But the previous tenants either didn't give a rats ass or couldn't afford to keep the house in good shape. Walls are half painted and doors damaged ect ect. And those steps oh my goodness those steps.

You cant tell but there are about ten STEEP and uneven steps down before the concrete slabs

I immediately began my quest for movers. We were very lucky to find two great local guys who swooped in and saved the day. And the hiking began. Toward the end of the day it became this iron man type of endurance test for me. I found myself screaming "YESSSS! I got up this motherfucker!",fist pump and all, each time I reached the top.

When the last few boxes were being brought in I sat down midway up the steps. I watched Ned facing his challenge with such a brave face. You think the stairs were tough for me? These steps may as well be Everest for Ned. Yet he was so happy to just be here that it didn't matter to him, he rose to the challenge in true Ned form. Then I took in the creek across the street from our house and it washed over me; these steps, this place, are going to take me and my body to a place of happiness I have never known before. The place I have always been too scared to go, or never thought I deserved, but wanted so badly. I still hated those steps but damn if I didn't have a new appreciation for them. And then a smile crossed my face that has scarcely left it since.

Moving Mountains Pt. 1

"You're off to great places. Today is your day. Your mountain is waiting so get on your way" -Dr. Seuss

For so many reasons we decided to finally take the leap and move to the mountains of NC this past August. Since it was a new beginning for us, I thought it would be a great opportunity to be a new beginning for Lilac Tree Delights as well...

The days leading up to our move across the state were exciting, frantic, difficult and terrifying. About two weeks before were were supposed to move, the computer in our Jeep went kaput to the tune of $1,200.00. We were moving into a house that was roughly half the size of what we were living in. A house which by the way we had never seen annnnnnd was in a town we had never been to. (crazy I know!) We were also leaving great friends who had become like family and I was leaving a really great job. But here we were, throwing the proverbial caution to the wind.

In light of the emergency repairs, we decided to go with a smaller moving truck to cut corners. It was also an excuse to come visit our family and friends again as soon as possible. My parents came to spend the last few days with us Stella. Little did I know what a blessing it would be to have them there. For those that don't know it, my dad kicks serious ass; 68, a year and a half out from a heart attack and he was meeting both Ned and I in energy - hell lets not kid ourselves, he totally outdid us.

The drive was great and once I got beyond Raleigh my heart flooded with excitement. I'd never been this far west in North Carolina. Stella was such a champ. She took it all in stride. After staying overnight in a hotel the next day we were all smiles. It felt like the 1st day of a great adventure. About 2 miles from our hotel when I came around the bend I glimpsed the foothills of the blue ridge mountains. Each mile was more spectacular than the last.
Having only driven through the mountains once or twice in my life, it was all at once awe-inducing and anxiety producing for this lifetime sea-level gal. A few cutbacks and one carsick Stella and we had arrived at our new home.

My dear friends know this; if on that day we had any other house rental options available within a 20 mile radius, we would have immediately taken it.

To be continued...

What's Next?

The hubby and I felt this depression reccession brewing awhile back. We talked a lot about it and what it meant for us. At the time things were already tough dealing with reinstating the hubby's disability status & benefits, and me working a job that paid 1/2 of what I was used to. We decided then the best thing to do was to go back to school. The beauty of approaching school as a 32 year old as apposed to being an 18 year old is that you approach it from a place of practicality as apposed to a place of passion. "I'm going to be an English Major with a focus on Romanitic Literature." Not that I have a problem with schooling yourself in the things you love, but I'd be willing to bet that Starbucks coffee you bought this morning was served to you by the proud owner of an BA in English. When you're 32 and approaching school you think more about what the growing job trends are. What is going to be the field that will give me a decent paying job?

When I was a kid, my grandma used to tell me that I should go into the health care business because I had such a good heart and a caring soul. fooled ya! I remember telling her that I could never do it because the site of broken bones or massive amounts of blood make me feel faint. I wasn't too sure at the time what I wanted to do but I knew that wasn't it. Now though as I look over degrees and careers. I'm seriously thinking about it. The baby boom generation is deep in the trenches of senior citizenship and they desperately need to get their health care on.

But despite seeing the great salaries and the huge demand for things like radiologists and physical therapists. I just can't seem to check the box. I find myself gazing longingly at Web Technology Degrees and Graphic Design Programs. There is part of me that knows Grandma was right, I do have the heart for Health Care. But do I have the head? Time and Time again I've learned that in order to be successful at anything you do have to have a passion for it. If I go into Health Care the drive would come more from a need for financial security than from a need to make sick people better.

Last night, I moaned to the hubby about my dilema. He reminded me that even though times are tough, you are always most successful when you do what you truly love. That who knows what tomorrow will bring as far as the economy goes. I may not make the greatest money right away, but because I love it, because I'm passionate about it, I'll find that financial security I want for my family. Eventually.

And I realize that, maybe just maybe that Starbucks barista is currently writing the next great novel. Maybe 2 or 3 years from now they get that editor job they've wanted for so long. Or maybe they realize life wants them to go another route. But Who's to say they won't get there? That they won't find succes?

Maybe it's possible to merge passion AND practicality. My passion for web design and graphic arts is very strong. I've schooled myself above and beyond what I ever imagined possible. But the time has come to really stretch my legs really see how far I can go. Really embrace how successful I can be. The practical side is that technology is an ever growing and ever demanding field. Something even this economic downturn can't stop. I hope to find my place somewhere in the middle.

In the meantime I'm off to admissions...

Where the F have you been?

Oh my sweet jebus. Have things been all a tizzy this past week. Lets start with a few facts. Fact: my "manager" Ashley has hated me from day one. (Because she's a spoiled teenager like that.) Fact: It drove her Ca-Ca-CRAZY that I didn't give a rats ass what she thought about me. Fact: It drove her equally as insane the fact that short of catching me stealing from the place I was untouchable. Fact: I was brought on at the Coffee House to bring things to a new level. Concentrating on fine tuning the customer service, marketing, and production. Fact: I have never asked Ashley to be anything other than Ashley I only challenged her to be a better more productive manager and employee. Fact: From day one that girl has cock blocked any and all suggestions for improvement made by me.



About a week and a half ago I get a call from Ashley asking me about some deposits that were missing and did I know about them. Um no..that was news to me. I start asking her about common denominators. who was working the day they went missing. Did she know any of this. "uh no" well then what the hell are you asking me about them for? Shouldn't you as the manager research all of this before? I tell her that I'll try to come in early and maybe I can help her figure it out. I get there ask her my same questions and she says she doesn't know. I say out loud "what the hell is going on? who would do such a thing?" and she smiles in a not very subtle way says "I know isn't it Crazy?" It's then that I say to my self, "Self If I didn't know any better I'd think this girl wants to set you up" And my self says "no shit Sherlock".

What followed is quite honestly something out of some horrible TV sitcom about backstabbing teenagers. Ashley starts calling my boss and telling him that I'm having all sorts of conversations with people I barely know much less see. Telling them all about the missing money and that I think it's a particular co-worker (we'll call her "Sandra"). What really cracks me up is that according to her I'm telling upstanding members of the community this information. People that I talk to MAYBE once a month about Chamber of Commerce Business (for oh 5 minutes). People that if in a fit of temporary insanity I decided to say the things that I'm accused of saying, would look at me and go "why the hell are you telling me this?". Better yet I'm apparently having these elaborate conversations with "Sandra" about whether or not a paper stuffed deposit envelope "feels like it's got money inside" (all together now... "What the Hell?")

I feel as though I'm trapped in some weird Twilight Zone moment. I'm being asked if I said some of the most preposterous things. I'm being accused of having close relationships with people I barely know. In fact it's become a joke amongst my boss and I. "I'm glad someone thinks I have friends." I say. Oh but hold onto your panties cuz the Crazy just keeps coming.

Last Monday at 12pm I get a call from my boss saying that Ashley and her trashier clone "Brenna" have walked out. "Sandra" has also quit. My boss had simply asked Ashley to relay to the police all the supposed conversations I had had with "Sandra". Ashley says "I can't do that to Sandra" hands my boss her key and walks out "Brenna" of course does everything that Ashley does and walks out too.

This my friends is stellar small town bullshit at it's best. And even though I've done my damnedest to avoid this very type of thing. (there is a reason I have NO friends in this area) I seemed to have stepped in it anyway.

And the stories keep coming!! Even my boss is now going, where the hell are you coming up with this?! I'm quite the popular one it seems. Even now that I'm working 12 hour days because her guilty ass quit according to her I still seem to find time to converse with people who on Ashley's best day would have nothing to do with her. But yet they all seem to call her and tell her I said these things. Even though the reality is. I haven't talked to them in months. Next thing you know the Mayor is going to text her say "hey Ashley, Frances was telling me the other day that she thought you were such a skanky bitch, and because your my girl I thought you should know. okay ttyl bff layta!"

My days of late have been filled with swollen, aching feet, out of the ass accusations (which my boss no longer believes thank god) and white balls of rage. I've never in my life experienced anything like this. And I have absolutely no idea how to deal with it. So far I just keep telling myself, that she's going to slip up and all will be revealed. I've been quiet and mature. On the surface I appear to be unaffected by it all. I feel all kinds of things when confronted by this situation. Some come from a mother's perspective "she's just jealous of all the attention the boss has given me" "she's been surrounded by drama her whole life". Some come from a place deep down that wants to knock on her door and give her a good smack down. And then there is a part of me that wants to weep and ask her why the hell would she want to do this to me? What have I done that would make her want me to get arrested for theft? "Ashley, I was thinking that the 1st shift should have a to do list like 2nd shift" - oh that bitch has to pay. "Ashley, I had some luck putting a basket of baked goods out by the register why don't you give it a try" -that's it I've got to get her out of here. I mean really. Perhaps she was just annoyed because I didn't have my nose up her ass like just about everyone else that has worked there. Perhaps she didn't like that when she threw her little fits I treated her just like Stella, by stepping over her and going about my business.

All I know is, I want this all to be over. I want my little coffeehouse to rise above all of this better and stronger than before. I want to be better and stronger than before.

B-day Recap

So while yesterday morning didn't start out so well. There was still plenty to be very happy about as the day went on.

~I recconnected with some old friends

~I voted!! (how perfect that one of the best things in the world could be done on my birthday)

~I changed my hair color and that's always fun (I haven't been a brunette in like EVER but I dig it)

~I got to spend time with my family over some fantastic mexican food.

~I got to drink one of these (I'm such a lightweight now it RIDICULOUS!)

~Obama won the NC primary! YAY

~And more importantly yesterday I realized that my Mirena IUD has been the cause of my severe depression, mood swings, and overall mental fog for the past 8 months. Which sucks because I really like everything else about this birth control. But I'm glad to finally know that I'm not going insane. And that it can be resolved. More to come on that one later.

I find it best to quote Mr. Ice Cube in these moments and simply say "that today was a good day"

Thanks for all the well wishes!